Common names: TARBUSH, VARNISHBUSH Arizona and Texas deserts: (Flourensia cernua). Yellow. July-December. Sunflower family. Size: A small shrub 3 feet, occasionally 6 or 7 feet high.
These resinous, much-branched, perennial shrubs are found on plains and mesas at elevations around 4,000 feet from western Texas to eastern Arizona and south into Mexico. The yellow, nodding flower heads are small, and the leaves have a hop-like odor and a bitter flavor unpalatable to cattle.
In northern Mexico the leaves and dried flower heads are sold in the drug markets under the name of hojase, recommended, in the form of a brew, as a remedy for indigestion.
YELLOW
Prosopis pubescens
Prosopis juliflora
Common names: MESQUITE, HONEY MESQUITE Arizona, California and Texas deserts: (Prosopis juliflora). Yellow. April-June. Pea family. Size: Tree 15 to 25, rarely 30 feet high.
Mesquite (mess-KEET) is one of the commonest and most widespread of desert trees, often growing in extensive thickets. It occurs at elevations below 5,000 feet, usually along streams, desert washes, or in locations where the water table is relatively high, from Kansas to California and south into Mexico. Roots are reported to penetrate to a depth of 60 feet with more wood below ground than above. In some parts of the desert, blowing sand settles around Mesquite clumps forming hummocks through which rodents tunnel.
The numerous branches are armed with sturdy, straight thorns. In the spring when covered with bright green leaves and laden with catkin-like clusters of greenish-yellow flowers, Mesquite is a particularly handsome shrub or tree. Blossoms are fragrant and attract myriads of insects, including Honeybees.